Dominica Moon
by moonglassez
Summary: The story of a Ravenclaw, growing up in the same year as our H. Potter. But this witch has an unusual gift and an unusual destiny...chapters 1 and 2 revised! chapter 3 is up!
1. A Letter

Jacob Moon married Roberta Thurofield on a sunshine-bathed morning in May. Their wedding guests wished the young couple well, toasted to their health and to the magicfulness of their future child, and sent the newlyweds off to their honeymoon in the Caribbean.  
  
As soon as they returned, the Moons moved into a two-story home in a small wizarding community near Southampton. Once settled, Jacob was granted ownership of Lunary Wands—the family business. Lunary was only six generations old; not nearly as aged or as famous as Ollivander's, but praised for its variety and uniqueness of wood and core combinations. And now that Jacob was married, his father could retire, and leave the store to his son.  
  
On the February 21st after Jacob and Robi's first anniversary, Dominica Anne was born to the Moons. Dominica was an only child, a bright and beautiful girl with her father's sunny brown hair and the violet eyes that ran in her mother's family. In all practical aspects, she seemed to be an average magical child. That is, until she turned six.  
  
* * *  
  
"Mum! Mummy, can I please go outside?" Dominica pleaded, one small hand on the back door. Robi looked up from the book she was reading.  
  
"Alright, but be back inside before it gets too dark," she warned.  
  
"I will!" Dominica replied as she disappeared through the door.  
  
Robi monitored her daughter's play through the living room window. Dominica ran across the lawn to where her toy broomstick sat propped against the shed. She swung her leg over the broom and pulled the skirt of her sundress into place. She kicked off with her skinny legs, and began to navigate around the backyard, her toes skimming the grass. Robi returned to her book.  
  
As the day progressed, the sun moved across the sky, and began to sink below the horizon. Robi absently reached for her wand and tapped the reading lamp. A sphere of yellow light zipped from her wand tip and sat under the shade.  
  
The darkening room was thrown into golden relief. Standing, Roberta went to the screen door and ducked out into the warm evening air.  
  
"Dominica! It's time to come inside!" she called, glancing about the back yard for her daughter. Dominica, however, was no where to be seen.  
  
"Dominica!" Mrs. Moon tried again, panic rising in her stomach, "Don't hide! It's not funny!"  
  
The backyard was void of any movement. Robi dashed back inside, grabbed her wand off the lamp table, and ran through the back door, allowing the screen to slam shut behind her.  
  
"Lumos," said she, and the tip of her wand shone bright white. "Dominica, where are you?"  
  
Robi scoured the backyard with her light, but Dominica still wasn't there. Then, she spotted something lying in the grass. It was Dominica's toy broom, sitting forgotten in front of the brush that led into the wooded area behind the house. From the look of it, Dominica had probably left it there before venturing out into the trees. Robi stepped over the bushes and made her way into the woods.  
  
"Dominica? Dominica?" Robi called, stepping carefully between the trees.  
  
Robi caught a snatch of sound: her daughter's small voice somewhere in the trees ahead. Roberta sighed with relief, and continued forward.  
  
Robi pushed a large branch from the way, and froze. There was her daughter, conversing casually and petting the head of what appeared to be a small, golden pony: a baby unicorn. It looked up when Robi emerged from the brush. Without a sound, it turned and disappeared into the woods.  
  
"Come back!" Dominica called, jumping to her feet. She turned to her mother, her expression saddened, "Mummy, you scared her away."  
  
"I-I'm sorry…" Robi fumbled, stepping into the clearing, eyes glued to where the unicorn had been. The two stood in silence until Robi could gather herself. "D-Domi, its time to come home, now," she said faintly.  
  
"But—" Dominica glanced longingly where the unicorn had vanished.  
  
"No, you need to come inside. Its time for dinner, and Daddy will be home soon."  
  
Dominica hesitated, then walked over to her mother and took her hand. Robi lead her back to the yard, brow furrowed in thought.  
  
* * *  
  
Dominica sat on her bed, leaning against the wall. Her journal sat open in her lap.  
  
Nanny Moon told me that I shouldn't read Muggle books. I asked her why, but couldn't get a straight answer from her. She mumbled something about how Muggles don't know anything. But I don't think that's so. When I went to America last summer with Mum, I met this Muggle girl named Hillary. At first, I thought she was magic, by the way she acted. But when I asked her about American Owl Post, she looked at me like I was off my rocker. Still, if other Muggles are anything like Hillary, then they're not entirely as incompetent as Nanny Moon thinks they are. At any rate, their authors write some really good fiction.  
  
The June sun poured in the window and spilled across Dominica's desk. An evening breeze ruffled the curtains. A large, tawny owl swooped in through the window and dropped the Moon's mail on Dominica's bed. It then fluttered down to perch on her knee. Dominica reached over and stroked its head. The owl nibbled her finger affectionately, and took off again out the window.  
  
This owl wasn't familiar with Dominica or any of the Moons, for that matter. There was simply something about her that animals— both magic and non-magic—liked and seemed to draw to naturally. Though she hadn't had any encounters with unusually rare magical creatures since the baby unicorn five years ago, Dominica's parents couldn't deny their daughter's uncanny gift for animals.  
  
Dominica put her journal to the side and began to sort through the mail. A bill, a robe catalogue, the Evening Prophet, and a letter in a heavy parchment envelope addressed to Dominica. Curious, she turned the letter over. It was sealed in purple wax with a familiar coat of arms. Dominica's heart flip-flopped. This seal was identical to the one on the letter her mother had shown her the other day. Mrs. Moon had received it when she had been Dominica's age.  
  
"MUM!" she shouted, leaping from her bed and bounding down the hall, "It came!" Dominica thudded down the stairs and slid into the kitchen. Mrs. Moon looked up from the sink, where she had just set the dishes to washing. Dominica fell into a chair and began to open the envelope. Drying her hands in a dishcloth, Mrs. Moon leaned over her daughter's shoulder. Two heavy pieces of parchment fell from the envelope. Dominica picked up the first sheet. It read:  
  
1  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4  
  
5  
  
6  
  
7 HOGWARTS SCHOOL  
  
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)  
  
  
  
Dear Miss Moon,  
  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
  
Term begins September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Minerva McGonagall,  
  
7.1 Deputy Headmistress  
  
  
  
"Wonderful!" her mother exclaimed, "Oh, your father will be so pleased!"  
  
Just as Mrs. Moon said this, there was 'pop' and Mr. Moon appeared by the kitchen sink.  
  
"My letter came!" Dominica cried, and ran to hug her dad 'round the middle. He stared down at her, momentarily taken by surprise, and then laughed.  
  
"That's great, Snidget," he said, using Dominica's childhood nickname. "A real witch, eh?"  
  
Dominica grinned at her father. "I can't wait!"  
  
"You mean you can't wait to leave your mum and I and not see us again for ten whole months?" Mr. Moon asked, looking pained.  
  
"No! I mean, I can't wait to be a real witch and do real magic! I'll miss you guys loads at school!"  
  
Mr. Moon smiled, "I know."  
  
Dominica released him and went to read her letter again. Mr. Moon picked up the supply list from the kitchen table.  
  
"We should go up to London to buy these things," said he, looking over the list, "But I can't leave the store for a while more, with my new apprentice. She's got plenty of motivation, but…(he looked at Mrs. Moon here and rolled his eyes) not an ounce of common sense. I don't think I'll be ready to trust her with the shop for a full day until at least July. But we can go sometime around then. Does that sound all right?"  
  
* * *  
  
The following weeks couldn't have gone by more slowly. June became July, the 1st, the 2nd, the 3rd…Dominica's father had promised to take her to buy her school supplies on the 31st, and she waited for this day more anxiously than for any Christmas or birthday she had ever had.  
  
"Domi. Domi. Dominica!" Mrs. Moon took a hold of her daughter's daisy- patterned sheets and threw them to the foot of the bed. Dominica groaned, rolled over, and curled into a shivering bundle.  
  
"Its too early, go find someone else to bother," Dominica grouched, pulling a pillow over her head.  
  
"But you're father's taking you to get your school supplies this morning."  
  
At this reminder, Dominica was up quicker than winking. Her mother slid back into the hall as she disappeared into the bathroom.  
  
Dominica brushed her fine brown hair and twisted it into two knots on the top of her head. A set of sugar pink summer robes and a maroon cloak were chosen from her closet and swiftly donned. Grassy green socks (embroidered with little golden Snitches) followed. Dominica tugged on a pair of black, thick-soled, nearly knee-high, buckled boots and ran from her room and down the stairs.  
  
Mr. Moon was sitting calmly at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee and reading the Daily Prophet. Dominica grabbed a bottle of chocolate milk from the cold-spell box and began gulping it down.  
  
"I'm sure your mother would have a few choice words about your breakfast." Mr. Moon said, looking up from his paper.  
  
"But we're in a hurry!"  
  
"Are we?" asked Mr. Moon, nonchalantly taking another sip.  
  
"Dada!"  
  
Mr. Moon smiled.  
  
It was 9 o'clock by the time Dominica and Mr. Moon were standing in front of the fireplace. Mr. Moon plucked the drawstring pouch off the mantel and shook a handful of its contents into his palm.  
  
"Dear, you don't need nearly so much! You're going to London, not Africa." Mrs. Moon reproved with her hands on her hips.  
  
Mr. Moon shrugged, "Too late."  
  
Mrs. Moon sighed and rolled her eyes, "Now, Domi, don't you go taking up your father's bad habits."  
  
"Yes, mum." Dominica replied as her father funneled half of his powder through his fist into her outstretched hand.  
  
Mr. Moon stepped up to the fireplace and tossed his powder into the blaze. "The Leaky Cauldron!" he told the fire, and let himself be consumed by the flames. When the blaze had changed back to its normal color, Dominica tossed in her handful and stepped into the grate.  
  
"The Leaky Cauldron!"  
  
A few seconds of unpleasant spinning brought Dominica tumbling out of the pub's fireplace.  
  
Shaking the soot from her hair and patting it from her robes, Dominica followed her father out back.  
  
Mr. Moon pulled his wand from a pocket in his robes and proceeded to tap the bricks around a small cavity in the wall. Three up, two across, and the bricks began to rearrange themselves into a huge archway, through which Dominica and Mr. Moon entered Diagon Alley.  
  
"We'll go to the bank, first," Mr. Moon told his daughter.  
  
Dominica waited in Gringotts cavernous main hall while her father rode down to get money from their vault. She watched a goblin weigh sapphires, had a nice conversation with one of the guards, and waited for her father to return. Dominica's attention was turned from a goblin clerk examining a pile of ancient-looking coins when a huge man entered the hall.  
  
This man was at least twice as tall as any of the other wizards in the bank, and probably four times as wide. Despite his intimidating stature, he wore a friendly smile under his tangled brown beard, and gave the impression of a gargantuan teddy bear.  
  
As Dominica continued to stare along with everyone else, she noticed that the man wasn't alone. A wiry boy about Dominica's age clad in baggy muggle clothes was following him, and goggling at everything in sight. He had glasses that had been taped together and unruly black hair. Surely, being no taller than Dominica and quite skinny, he couldn't be this giant- man's son?  
  
Dominica was about to try to get a closer look at the pair when her father stumbled, looking shaken, from one of the many doors, a goblin at his heels. Regaining his composer, he crossed to Dominica, "All right, we can go now."  
  
Dominica cast one last glance at the awkward pair before allowing her father to steer her from the bank.  
  
Dominica and her father spent the rest of the afternoon wandering from shop to shop, gathering robes, potion ingredients, phials, scales, books, a telescope, and a cauldron, until they were both loaded down with boxes and bags. Dominica's father even bought her a small blonde kitten. It purred as it slept soundly in its white wicker basket.  
  
Dominica had everything she required, except a wand. But of course, Mr. Moon would supply that himself.  
  
Because they were too loaded down to use Floo powder for the return trip, Mr. Moon had their packages Auto-Apparated home, while he and Dominica Flooed to Lunary Wands.  
  
As Dominica tumbled out of the furnace in the back, she caught her head on the top of the opening and fell to the floor with a thud. Her father rushed over, "Dominica, are you all right?"  
  
Dominica sat herself up. She ground her teeth, but a tear of pain managed to squeeze itself free and trailed down her cheek. "I'm okay, Dada."  
  
Mr. Moon sighed with relief, "That's good." He gently brushed the hair from his daughter's forehead and examined it. A red mark was already appearing in the middle of her brow. "You're going to have quite a bruise there."  
  
"Yeah, I'm going to be a regular Harry Potter," said Dominica as she pulled herself to her feet. Mr. Moon laughed.  
  
The walls were completely hidden by tall shelves, all full with wand boxes—how Dominica's father was able to find her a match so quickly, she would never know. Maybe it was pure luck, or perhaps it was because Mr. Moon knew his daughter so well, but after she had tried an oak, 11 inches, with a mermaid hair core; a mahogany, 10 and ½ inches, with a dragon scale at the center; and a juniper, 12 inches, with a Re'em tail hair core, that her father decided to try something a bit more out of the ordinary.  
  
While Dominica waved about a willow wand, 12 and ¾ inches long with a Kneazle whisker core, Mr. Moon climbed up his ladder. He shuffled through the boxes along the top shelf, until he found a very old, gray box with a peeling Lunary label stuck to it. Blowing the dust from the spindly script, he glanced over the wand description. Perhaps, why not? It was worth a try.  
  
Mr. Moon climbed down and snatched the willow wand from Dominica—who had been determinedly poking it at a potted plant and had accidentally set the plant on fire.  
  
"Sorry, dad."  
  
"That's all right," Mr. Moon replied, putting it out with his cloak. He handed the box to Dominica and bid her open it.  
  
"Rowan and feather of a Thestral winged horse, 11 and ½ inches. We seemed to have had this wand in waiting for quite a while. That's my great- grandfather's handwriting on the label. Go on, give it a wave."  
  
Dominica handled the wand for a moment. It fit her palm nicely, as if it had been made for her grip. She swept the wand upward, and a trail of luminescent bubbles flowed from the tip. When the bubbles popped, they twittered like birds.  
  
"Ha!" her father cried, "That's excellent!"  
  
Dominica ran her fingers up and down the smooth finish of the pale wood. She smiled and slid the wand into a pocket in her cloak. ********  
  
  
  
Author's Note: I am trying as best I can to remain true to the real books. If you catch an inconsistency, please let me know by reviewing! Thanx! 


	2. The Train and the Sorting

August 31st dawned in rose and copper. The sunlight shone through the crimson curtains, dappling the hardwood floor with wine red patches. The morning light slid across the floor, crawled up the side of the bed, and woke Dominica. She rolled over and was about to close her eyes again when she spotted her school trunk sitting open against her desk.  
  
Her stomach flipped over in her ribcage. She would be leaving for school today. She bolted upright, sending her blonde kitten (whom she had named Arwen) tumbling off her pillow. The kitten mewed in an alarmed sort of way.  
  
"Sorry, Arwen," Dominica apologized as she hopped out of bed.  
  
By half-past nine, Dominica's trunk had been loaded into the back of the Moon's car, Arwen was curled up with the top to her wicker basket open, and they were backing out of the driveway.  
  
Dominica watched the village go by. It was a deflating feeling, to realize that she wouldn't see the familiar untidy houses with their peculiar front gardens until next summer.  
  
The Moons arrived at King's Cross a little before half past ten, and were through the barrier by ten thirty-five. After much trouble, Dominica and her mother had loaded Dominica's trunk into an empty compartment (Mr. Moon was pre-occupied being introduced to the family of a friend of his). Dominica leaned out the window to talk with her parents before the train left. It was even worse to realize that she wouldn't see them until next summer.  
  
At a quarter until eleven, a familiar couple nabbed Dominica's parents and she was left alone in her compartment. An anxious knot was beginning to twist itself into her stomach. Even Arwen, who was sleeping, looked less relaxed than usual.  
  
A family of redheads moved past the window, and a father-daughter pair. Dominica's eyes drifted to a boy her own height and probably age, standing with his parents. The boy had his mother's platinum blonde hair, her pale complexion, and his father's superior face and severely straight posture. All three of them looked bored and drawling.  
  
They're probably some rich, pure line wizarding family, Dominica thought to herself, And I bet that boy owns ten broomsticks, has a hundred- galleon allowance and thinks he's better than everyone else here.  
  
The door to the compartment slid open, breaking Dominica's train of thought.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry, I thought this compartment was empty! I'll just find another one."  
  
A girl Dominica's age stood in the doorway. Her golden blonde hair fell in graceful waves about her shoulders and down her back. She brushed a stray strand of it from her silvery blue eyes.  
  
"No, it's okay!" Dominica said quickly, sitting up, "It's just me in here. There's plenty of room for someone else."  
  
The girl paused, "Are you sure?"  
  
"Positive. If you want me to, I'll help you load your trunk in," said Dominica, standing as she spoke.  
  
"Oh, all right…thank you."  
  
The girl moved her trunk up to the door. Dominica grabbed one end and pulled, while the girl pushed from the other end. After much scuffling and scrapping, the trunk was pulled up into the compartment and stowed next to Dominica's.  
  
"I'm Dominica Moon, by the way. Who are you?" Dominica asked as she collapsed back into her seat.  
  
"Artemis Quistill," the girl replied as she hung her covered owl's cage by the window. "You have a very pretty name."  
  
"You really think so?" said Dominica. "I always thought my first name was too long."  
  
"Nah, I think it's nice."  
  
Artemis sat down across from Dominica. Her porcelain complexion blushed a delicate pink from the effort of lugging up her heavy trunk. Suddenly, the train's whistle let out a call that echoed through the platform. Both girls jumped from their seats to the window.  
  
Dominica leaned out to hug and kiss her parents.  
  
"Write us loads of letters, Snidget."  
  
"We'll miss you so much!"  
  
"You'll be the best witch in the whole year."  
  
"Owl us tomorrow and tell us which House you're Sorted into!"  
  
Dominica looked over as her mother finished hugging and kissing her and saw that Artemis was being good-byed to by a tall, balding man and a woman with graying brown hair.  
  
Dominica held her parents' hands until the train began to move.  
  
"I love you!" Dominica called as the distance between them grew.  
  
"We love you, too!"  
  
"Bye, Snidget!"  
  
And they were gone.  
  
Dominica held her breath to keep the tears at bay, but it only half worked worked. She had to wipe her eyes on the sleeves of her shirt before sitting back down.  
  
"Your parents look nice," Dominica told Artemis, to distract herself.  
  
"Oh, those weren't my parents. That was my Aunt Tessie and Uncle Forrest. My parents died when I was very little," Artemis explained.  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry."  
  
"It's really all right. I was only a baby when they died, so I don't really remember them, and my uncle and aunt and cousin are very nice people."  
  
"Does your cousin go to Hogwarts?" asked Dominica, pulling Arwen from her basket and into her lap.  
  
"Yes. Her name's Meg. She's a Hufflepuff third year," Artemis replied, reaching over and scratching Arwen behind the ears. Arwen purred contentedly. "Wish I had a cat, but my uncle's allergic," she sighed. "Instead, I've got Legolas, here."  
  
Artemis pulled the cover off of the birdcage. A silvery-colored owl slept with his head tucked under his wing.  
  
"He's beautiful!" Dominica exclaimed.  
  
Arwen stood on her hind legs and balanced against the bottom of the cage to get a better look. She watched Legolas for a moment, then turned to Dominica and gave her a look that said So? It's just a bird.  
  
Dominica shook her head and put Arwen on the seat next to her. "I swear Arwen's probably part Kneazle. She is certainly the oddest cat I've ever met," said she. Arwen flicked her tail at her.  
  
Artemis smiled. "She's pretty all the same."  
  
Just then, the door to the compartment burst open with a BANG, as a large, orange something trailing sparks shot by. The girls leapt from their seats and stuck their heads out the open compartment door. What Dominica recognized as a huge Filibuster's Rocket was shooting down the corridor, popping open doors as it banged drunkenly from wall to wall. The whole car was disrupted; there were rows of heads ducked out of their compartment doorways and just as many standing in the corridor. The rocket fizzled out and burst at the far end of the car. Dominica looked up the corridor. A tall black boy with dreadlocks stood at the other end. He and the two redheads standing with him were trying, unsuccessfully, to hide their smiles.  
  
There was an awkward tension as everyone watched the rocket smolder at the head of the car. Naturally, no one moved to retrieve, for fear that it would pin them to the crime (even though the obviously guilty party was doubled over laughing at the far end of the corridor).  
  
It wasn't until a snappy-looking witch in red robes came from the front of the train and shooed them all back into their compartments that anyone moved at all. By this time, the twins and the tall boy had vanished, so the culprits went unpunished. Dominica and Artemis ducked back into their compartment and pulled the door shut again.  
  
The train had long ago left London, and was now speeding through noon sun-baked fields. Dominica and Artemis stared out the window for a long time. The cerulean skies were full of downy white clouds. It would have been a wonderful day for flying.  
  
"Do you play Quidditch?" Dominica asked, still gazing at the sky.  
  
"Er, yes. I used to play in a junior witches' league," Artemis replied.  
  
"What position?"  
  
"Normally Seeker, or Beater. But I did play Keeper once or twice, when ours was out with the flu for two weeks. How about you?"  
  
"Nah, I'm not very good. I mean, I can fly pretty well, but can't take my hands off the broomstick. I still follow it, though," Dominica said, turning to Artemis.  
  
"I don't think so," Artemis said with a sigh, "Especially because we're not allowed to have our own brooms, you know? The school brooms are supposed to be awful. Also, I'm not good enough to play as a first year. I'd be up against some players who'd been playing a lot longer than me."  
  
After the rocket mess had been cleaned up, the witch with the candy cart started her rounds. She knocked lightly at the compartment door. Dominica pulled it open.  
  
"Anything off the cart, girlies?"  
  
At the sight of all the candy, Dominica's stomach grumbled. She fished in her pocket for money and followed Artemis into the corridor. The two girls together bought a great deal of sweets (chocolate frogs and licorice wands mostly, although a few cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties made it in the bunch). They had a grand time with the Licorice Wands, which acted like real wands in that they had a spell built into them that worked once, then you were free to eat them. By the time they'd cast and devoured them all, the compartment was full of long-last bubbles, Artemis' hair had been blue once (until the spell had worn off) the floor was covered in confetti, and there were several tiny white birds flying around the ceiling.  
  
The scenery outside was becoming wilder; the flat fields had turned into dark hills and woods (although neither of the girls noticed this, as Arwen had just nearly gotten a hold of one of the birds and Dominica was scolding her).  
  
It was quite a startle when another knock came at the door. The compartment was a mess. Artemis opened the window to let out the bubbles and birds, and Dominica swept as much confetti under the seats as she could. The knock came again. Dominica opened the compartment door. A boy older than she and Artemis stood there.  
  
"Have you two seen Harry Potter?" he asked, glancing into the compartment. Luckily, the confetti charms had just warn off, and the compartment was tidy once again.  
  
"Excuse me?" Artemis said, caught off guard.  
  
"Harry Potter. It's all over the train that Harry Potter's on board."  
  
Artemis gasped, and the boy's inky blue eyes sparked with amusement.  
  
"No. We haven't seen him. Is he really here?" asked Dominica, her amethyst eyes widening.  
  
"Apparently," the boy told her, shrugging and cocking his head. His coppery red curls shifted, "Well, if you see him, tell me. My name's Octavian. Except that I hate it. So instead, I'm Mouse. I'm two compartments down that way." Mouse pointed down the corridor.  
  
"I'm Dominica," she offered.  
  
"I'm Artemis," Artemis chimed in.  
  
"Well, I'll see you girls later," said Mouse  
  
"Bye," the girls chorused.  
  
Mouse closed the compartment door and was gone. Dominica and Artemis looked at each other and smiled.  
  
Glancing out the window, Dominica noticed that the sun was sitting very low behind the line of trees.  
  
"I think we'd better start packing things up."  
  
The girls changed into their Hogwarts robes and packed the remainder of the snacks into their book bags. Arwen was closed back into her wicker basket, and Legolas' cage was covered again. The sun had all but disappeared behind the thickening trees, setting the sky ablaze with pink and orange. A blanket of night crept after the fiery hues.  
  
The forest came to an abrupt end, and the train snaked out under the evening sky and began to slow.  
  
An announcement boomed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."  
  
Dominica looked at Artemis. Artemis smiled weakly, but her silver blue eyes gave away her anxiousness.  
  
As the train began to slow, Artemis and Dominica squeezed into the crowded corridor. When the train finally pulled to a stop, they were swept up with the serge of students and filed out the door onto the dark platform. The night had nearly set in; Dominica could just make out the outline of mountains and the forest against the indigo horizon.  
  
A lamp was swinging somewhere ahead of the mob of students, and a thunderous voice was calling over the low-level commotion.  
  
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Dominica and Artemis tried to push their way to the voice, and Dominica caught a glimpse of the voice's source in the swinging lamplight. It was the giant man from Gringotts.  
  
"C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!" Artemis and Dominica caught up with the crowd following the man. He led them away from the rest of the students and down a steep, slippery, and very narrow path flanked by trees.  
  
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here," the man called over his shoulder. The path opened abruptly onto the bank of a vast, inky lake. Away across the lake, perched atop a cliff, the Hogwarts castle was contrasted against the deepening sky, its windows winking like stars in the night. Dominica's gaze shifted to the shore, where a fleet of oarless rowboats was bobbing in wait.  
  
"No more'n four to a boat!" the giant man shouted, pointing a huge hand to the boats. Dominica and Artemis climbed into a boat with two dark- haired twins. In the boat next to them was a girl with frizzy brown hair, a gangly redheaded boy, a plump boy who looked thoroughly distressed, and…the boy Dominica had seen in Diagon Alley. He pushed his glasses nervously up the bridge of his nose.  
  
There was something on his forehead, Dominica squinted into the falling darkness to try and make it out, but the giant man shouted, "Everyone in? Right then—FORWARD!" and with a sudden jolt, the boats moved forward simultaneously. Dominica had to grab Artemis' shoulder and push off the side of the boat to keep from falling into the icy black waters below. The moon behind the castle was full and pale against the shroud of night.  
  
"Heads down!" the guide suddenly called, and Dominica suddenly realized that they were about to run into the cliff that the castle stood on. She ducked, and the boats sailed through a curtain of ivy that was hiding a wide opening in the face of the cliff. They sailed along a dark tunnel and reached a sort of harbor. The first years climbed out and onto the pebbly ground. The guide led them up a long flight of rock stairs. At the top, they emerged onto a damp lawn, the castle looming up before them. They walked up several stone steps to gather before the great oak front doors. Their giant guide knocked three times at the doors. They immediately swung open to reveal a tall, severe looking witch with dark hair, clad in emerald green robes.  
  
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the man addressed the witch.  
  
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."  
  
She swung the doors open further. The entrance hall was cavernous—it probably could have swallowed a two-story house with room to spare. Professor McGonagall led the first years past what must have been the Great Hall, judging from the hundreds of voices echoing beyond the doors. She shepherded the group into a chamber off the hall. It was cramped, and they stood shoulder to should with those around them.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall addressed them. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something of your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in your house common room." She went on to explain the houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin), the points system, and the house cup.  
  
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She peered around at the first years, "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."  
  
With that, she left the chamber.  
  
Some whispered excitedly, some were silent; the plump boy Dominica had seen earlier looked as if he were about to wet himself.  
  
Dominica shivered and tried to pull her robes closer around her but found that she didn't have enough room to move her elbows without jabbing someone. With no where else to look except at the back of someone's head, Dominica rocked her head back to stare at the ceiling.  
  
Something very unexpected happened. Nearly two dozen ghosts swarmed through the wall behind the first years and swirled around the ceiling. Dominica yelped, and several people screamed. The ghosts were babbling on about something; Dominica caught phrases like "Forgive and forget…" and "…all the chances he deserves?" Then, a frilly looking ghost seemed to realize that there were students below. He addressed them, but received no response.  
  
"New students!" said a fat one. The ghosts attempted to make conversation with unresponsive students for a few moments, before Professor McGonagall returned and shooed them all through the next wall.  
  
"Now, form a line, and follow me," Professor McGonagall instructed. They first years squished awkwardly into a line, and were marched out of the chamber and into the Great Hall. Some marveled at the enchanted ceiling, but Dominica was too nervous to be distracted for long by the night sky.  
  
No matter how had she prodded, Dominica's parents had never told her how the students were sorted into their appropriate house. The line stopped suddenly, causing Dominica to bump into the person in front of her. She heard Artemis draw in a rattling breath behind her.  
  
When Dominica looked up, she saw that a tattered wizard's hat had been placed on a four-legged stool before them. The hall quieted. The hat wriggled slightly. Suddenly, a rip at the brim of the hat opened, very much like a mouth. Then, to Dominica's great surprise, the hat began to sing:  
  
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
  
But don't judge o what you see,  
  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
  
A smarter hat than me.  
  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
  
And I can cap them all.  
  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
  
So put me on and I will tell you  
  
Where you ought to be.  
  
You might belong in Gryffindor,  
  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
  
Where they are just and loyal,  
  
Those patient Hufflepuff are true  
  
And unafraid of toil;  
  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
  
If you've a ready mind,  
  
Where those of whit and learning,  
  
Will always find their kind;  
  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
  
You'll make your real friend,  
  
Those cunning folk use any means  
  
To achieve their ends.  
  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
  
And don't get in a flap!  
  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"  
  
The hall broke into tumultuous applause as the hat bowed to each table. It then stilled, sitting as a perfectly normal hat.  
  
A huge burden of worry was suddenly lifted from Dominica. All they had to do was try on the hat. Professor McGonagall stepped up, and unrolled a large sheet of parchment that she had been holding.  
  
She looked up at the first years, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbot, Hannah!"  
  
The girl sanding in front of Dominica stumbled from line, and walked to the stool, her blonde pigtails bouncing. She sat down on the stool and McGonagall set the hat on her head; it fell down over her nose.  
  
The hat twitched, then opened its brim wide.  
  
"HUFFLEPUFF!" it called out for the hall to hear. The table to the far right cheered Hannah as she came to sit with them.  
  
"Bones, Susan!"  
  
"HUFLLEPUFF!" the hat announced, and Susan went to sit with Hannah.  
  
"Boot, Terry!"  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
Dominica itched with nerves. Her eyes strayed to the house tables. Her mother had been a Ravenclaw, and her father a Gryffindor. The Gryffindors looked like a merry bunch (she spotted the dreadlocked boy who'd set off the Rocket sitting with the Gryffindors), and so did the Ravenclaws, even though a few of them looked like they could use an attitude adjustment. Then Dominica spotted Mouse sitting among the Ravenclaws, whispering in the ear of a freckled girl sitting next to him who was trying very hard not to laugh.  
  
"Brocklehurst"…"Brown"…"Bulstrode"…"Capnick"…"Dingledong"…"Dawson"…"Edward"… "Finch-Fletchey"…Dominica turned to look at Artemis. She was still shivering. The line was thinning.  
  
"MacDougal"…"Malfoy"…then…  
  
"Moon, Dominica!" Dominica stepped sideways out of line and walked what seemed a thousand feet, up to the stool. She sat down slowly, gripping the sides of the seat. She caught a glimpse of the entire hall watching her before Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on over her eyes.  
  
"All right, then," the Hat began, "Got plenty of courage, it seems. A great compassion for animals and for people, too. Perhaps Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but I don't think your big heart would do well in Slytherin. Ah," the hat said, with an air of discovery, "Got quite a head for numbers, do you? And you posses a great love for books…"  
  
Ravenclaw? Dominica wondered silently.  
  
"Seems so," the hat said, opening its brim.  
  
"RAVENCLAW!"  
  
The second table from the left burst into applause as Dominica pulled the hat from her head and put it back on the stool.  
  
She walked over to the Ravenclaw table as the next student was called to the hat. She sat down next to an oriental girl. A hand reached around the oriental girl and tapped Dominica's shoulder. Dominica turned her head to see Mouse.  
  
"Congratulations, Moon-girl. Welcome to Ravenclaw."  
  
"Thanks," Dominica whispered, smiling. She turned back to the Sorting.  
  
"Nott"…"Parkinson"…"Patil"…"Patil" (the twins Dominica and Artemis had been in the boat with. One twin, named Padma, came to Ravenclaw and sat across from Dominica)…"Perks"…  
  
"Potter, Harry!"  
  
Dominica craned her neck to look. Had she heard correctly? The Harry Potter?? The hall was suddenly full of whispers, hissing like steam off water. Dominica stood on her knees in her seat to get a look at the Potter boy. The boy Dominica had seen in Gringotts accompanying Hagrid stepped from line. Dominica was struck for a moment. That skinny, good-natured looking boy? He couldn't have been any taller than Dominica. She sat back down, feeling anti-climactic.  
  
Harry sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall put the hat on his head. The entire Great Hall held their breath. The Potter boy sat on the stool for a full minute before the hat opened its brim/mouth.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!" it bellowed.  
  
The table to the left of the Ravenclaws exploded with cheers; people shouted and clapped and banged on the table. It continued even after Harry had gone to sit with the Gryffindors. Professor McGonagall waited, her face annoyed, for the din to quiet. Artemis was next.  
  
"Quistill, Artemis!"  
  
The hat settled itself once on Artemis' head. Artemis and the Sorting Hat conversed silently for a moment, both of their mouths moving, but no sound coming out. The hat opened its brim wide, once, then Artemis whispered something and the brim closed again.  
  
Finally, the hat widened its brim and shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"  
  
Artemis, smiling, took the hat from her head and put it back on the stool. She hurried over to take a seat by Dominica. ******** 


	3. A Shadow

The next two weeks went by in a blur of new teachers, new faces, and inconsistent hallways. By semester break, Dominica would look back at the first of the school year and wonder how she hadn't gone mad for want of rest.  
  
By the end of the first week, Artemis, who was much more of an observer than Dominica was, had summed up the characters of hers and Dominica's fellow Ravenclaw first year girls.  
  
Mandy Brocklehurst, the bubbly and bookish red-head, Lisa Turpin, the level headed mirror worshiper, and Padma Patil, who would be drop dead gorgeous as an adult and knew it, were destined to clique as soon as things settled down (as Artemis explained to Dominica in the back of their History of Magic class). Padma would lead, and the other two would follow her around like a pair of puppies. Nausikaa Rigel was less easily pinned, as Artemis put it. As far as she could tell, Nausikaa was one of those people who lived in their own head. But there was something quite comfortable and sure about the way Nausikaa interacted with other students that wasn't normal for a daydreamer (basically, she was too sure of herself to have any reason to stay alone).  
  
Then, before Artemis could elaborate further, Professor Binns cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows, and the conversation came to an abrupt stop.  
  
Now, I could continue to describe school life as Dominica knew it—the teachers, the classes, the other students, the gossip, the short-lived obsession she had over the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and other anecdotes that have no concern with the point of our story. But, I fear that I have already bored you enough, my good readers, by writing two chapters without any real sign of plot. So, if it is all right with you, I will accelerate to late October—more specifically October the 29th. Follow me? Then, off we go.  
  
The liquid silver moonlight spilled across the floor of the Ravenclaw 1st year girls' dormitory and stained the powder blue bed hangings with pearl. Artemis was the only thing awake in the Ravenclaw wing, draped in blankets with her knees curled to her chest. Untamed blonde hair fell like a cloud round her head, hiding her worried face. Unable to fall asleep since waking up from a dream an hour ago, she had resigned herself to stressing over something she couldn't quite put a finger on. Her silver blue gaze shifted from her bedspread to her best friend, soundly asleep on her side in the bed next to her own. Her stomach suddenly twisted with anxiety.  
  
Dominica? Artemis thought, Why should I be worried about her?  
  
But Artemis' worry wouldn't listen to reason. A pestering in the back of her mind would not allow her to relax. Last time Artemis had a sense of anxiousness like this about something, it had been…in a time Artemis didn't want to remember. But there was no getting around it—something was terribly wrong, and Artemis probably would not figure it out until…No, she told herself. This place was very safe. Much safer than back home…  
  
No sooner had Artemis slid into a dream than there was a shadow at the window Lisa Turpin had carelessly left unlocked. The window, however, was not opened. Instead, the shadow simply went straight through the glass as though it weren't there. It peeked in careful silence into all of the beds, until it came to Dominica's. There it stopped, and moved to her side.  
  
Arwen was curled up against Dominica's middle, which rose and fell gently. The shadow leaned over, until it was hovering over Dominica's face, where it stayed and gazed.  
  
Dominica awoke quite suddenly, and found herself staring into a pair of blue eyes so deep they were almost black. She tried to sit up, but a pair of strong hands held her against the bed. She tried to call out, but one of those hands was swiftly cupped over her mouth.  
  
Dominica stared in petrified fear into the eyes above her own. The shadow leaned in closer until it was centimeters from her face. Dominica could smell night air and something vaguely familiar on the shadow. White pinpricks of light shone from its eyes like distant stars.  
  
Then, it was gone, more swiftly and silently than drawn breath.  
  
Dominica realized that she hadn't been breathing and gasped for air. She sat up, but there was no one in the dormitory than the other girls, all soundly asleep in their beds.  
  
It must have been a dream, she told herself. She had had dreams before that seemed to melt seamlessly into reality. It was only a dream.  
  
She lay back down and pulled the blankets up to her chin. Still, she could almost feel the hand on her face, the smell of night air. But it had been a dream.  
  
With that in mind, Dominica finally slid back into sleep.  
  
In the next bed, Artemis tossed fitfully in a dream.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was so short…I also just realized that I never put in my disclaimer! (Dominica and her family, Artemis and her family, Mouse, Nausikaa Rigel, etc. are of my own design. Hogwarts, the Hogwarts Express, Diagon Alley, Harry Potter, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, the Sorting Hat, etc. are all the creation of the brilliant J.K. Rowling, and are in no way my own.)  
  
Next chapter…Dominica happens upon something special. But she best be careful, because its original owner wants it back… 


End file.
